President Bush Invites Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to Meeting at White House March 5

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Feb 11, 2002

NEW YORK, NY  President George W. Bush has invited His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to meet with him in the White House on Tuesday, March 5th. According to His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios, Primate of the Greek Orthodox Church in America and Exarch of the Ecumenical Patriarchate,  The invitation of President Bush to His All Holiness is particularly significant as His All Holiness has, since the tragedy of September 11, played a remarkable leadership role in attempting to curb conflicts fought in the name of religion.

In December, His All Holiness chaired an interfaith meeting on The Peace of God in the World, held in Brussels with more than 80 religious leaders representing Christianity, Judaism and Islam, organized by His All Holiness under the auspices of the European Commission and its president Romano Prodi. On January 12th, His All Holiness celebrated a Divine Liturgy in Teheran, Iran and gave a lecture at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on The Contribution of Religion to the Establishment of Peace in the Contemporary World.

His All Holiness, who had planned to visit the United States this year to join in commemoration of the 80th Anniversary of the Archdiocese and the 65th Anniversary of Holy Cross School of Theology, will arrive at Andrews Air Force Base on Monday, March 4th and return to the Ecumenical Patriarchate from New York on the evening of March 10th. His All Holiness will be in Boston from March 6-8 and will stay at Hellenic College/Holy Cross School of Theology. From the evening of March 8th to March 10th, His All Holiness will be in New York City.

The Ecumenical Patriarch will attend the banquet of the Order of St. Andrew and the presentation of the Athenagoras Human Rights Award to Former President George Bush and Mrs. Barbara Bush on March 9th, and will preside at the Patriarchal Liturgy and installation of new Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate at the Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity on March 10th. His All Holiness has been close to President Bush ever since the historic visit of Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios to the White House and the United States in 1990, and wanted to be with the Omogenia and President and Mrs. George H. Bush for this most significant event. Further details will be forthcoming on the visit of His All Holiness.